Darts -
It has been a very exciting first 2 weeks of the summer training. I have been very impressed with the mileage and the commitment that I am seeing from many of you. Last week's camp was a lot of fun for those who attended. The running was hard - we got sweaty, wet and muddy, a few got bloody, and everyone got stronger. I think we will make the kick-off camp an annual tradition to start the summer. I will be posting some pictures on the blog at www.davisxc.blogspot.com.
If you were unable to attend, there will still be many fun things we do throughout the summer which I hope you will be able to attend. We talked about a few things at the campfire:
Coach Petty talked about the importance of commitment. He shared a story about a time in an endurance race when he really wanted to quit - he had gone through a tremendous amount, but he stayed committed to his TEAM and finished the race. He also stressed the importance of not giving up when things get tough (in running or in life).
Coach Brad talked about working hard in everything that you do. He stressed the importance of being your best rather than focusing on being the best. It really is true that we judge runners by how hard they run, not by how fast they are. Brad also mentioned a few of his pet peeves (complaining, not running through the line, cutting corners, and miracle whip on sandwiches).
Coach Janae talked about overcoming our fears. The fears we have in running can be anything from being worried that you won't be able to finish a workout or a race to fears of injuries to fears of not being good enough to fears about not fitting in. Whatever your fears are, she talked about the importance of identifying them, facing them, and conquering them.
I talked about what you can expect from cross country this fall - a lot of hard work, a lot of fun, a close TEAM, and some important races. And I also talked about what I expect from you this summer and fall - TEAM comes first, giving your very best, being good people (smart, honest, kind, hard-working, grateful, humble, etc), No complaining (it is okay to think something is hard, but you have to realize that it is going to make you better), and I expect each of you to make it fun and to find reasons to run for yourself. I expect you all to become better runners and better people for having run cross country.
Another expectation that I didn't talk about was that I expect to be surprised. I love when I see someone do more than I expected them to do. When I see someone work harder or get faster than I expected. In these first 2 weeks I have already been pleasantly surprised by quite a few of you. We need more of this. You cannot sit back and expect the other people on your TEAM to make your TEAM better. You have to step up and do everything you can to make the TEAM successful. On the run this morning I was already thinking that we could do a better job pushing ourselves. Those of you who were at camp learned that I have the special power of being able to read minds. This morning I heard a lot of negative thoughts - not necessarily "this sucks", but I know that some of you were thinking of ways to make running easier. To go less distance, to not push the hills as hard, to not run as fast as you can, etc. That is not the type of thinking we need. We need to be thinking "I am going to run fast today - even if it hurts" "I am going to push hard up this hill because it is going to make me stronger" "I am not going to run slow just because those around me are taking it easier", etc. I want to be surprised by a few of you in the next month. I want to see some real effort to become better (by better I mean faster, stronger, more positive with yourself and others). I see some of you currently giving that effort I am looking for, but not all of you. Commit to do better for yourself and for your TEAM.
It was a great run and a great turnout this morning at the vita course (99 people showed up - 105 were there last week), but there are quite a few of you who are getting these emails, who are hopefully reading this right now, who were not there either week. There are 135 athletes on the roster. I want you all to feel like you want to come to the TEAM runs. If you have questions or fears about coming - let me work through those with you. If you have just been being lazy for the first 2 weeks of the summer. Now is the time to get focused and energized and start running. You are not that far behind if you start NOW. I promise you will regret it if you start in August. You don't have to come and set any world records in distance or in time - I am just asking that you come and give your best effort. Our TEAM is good - but we can be better. Each of you can strengthen (or weaken) the TEAM in your own way. I want to continue to see some committed and excited runners when we meet.
Very good work on the emails over the first two weeks. Keep that up. Once again, I am very impressed with what I am reading and with what I am seeing.
Here is what we have coming up:
Wednesday (16th) - Varsity Run at 7:00am at the school - I would eventually like a few more of you coming on these runs. For now, the group includes: Brad Nye, Austin Neuner, Joe White, Preston Johnson, Adam Mathias, Matt Swanson, Matt Munns, Logan Wood, Alex Hedquist, Hayden Hansen, Skyler Williams, Brayden Cromar, Meghan Hedquist, Abby Frodsham, Shea Martinez, Tessa Brown, Anni Andersen, Anna Ward, Brooke Gutzwiller, Madi Holt, Becca Albrechtsen, Megan Parker, Hannah Haws.
Thursday (17th) - Meet at the school at 7:00am - we will be running to Nichol's Park and playing a game (most likely "coach catch").
Friday-Saturday (18-19) - Wasatch Back Relay for those 24 of you who are representing the team. I will be sending out an email with some more information later today.
Monday (21st) - Vita Course - I will be handing out the new workout information. I want to see at least 110 people there (it would be a new record). No sleeping in (don't be a lazy-head).
Happy Running,
Coach Talley
801-580-8713
"The will to win means nothing without the will to prepare" - Great Distance Runner
ps. Many of you talked about the joys of running in the rain this past week. I liked that in the emails I read. The runs in the rain can be some of the best. Nice work on being positive with that.
No comments:
Post a Comment